Diplomatic Justice

With his hunger and thirst satisfied, Xu Le glanced at the considerable amount of food left on the table. After a moment's hesitation, he spoke:

"Can we get this packed to go?"

"Of course. Waiter, bring us a few takeaway bags."

Xu Le smiled. Apparently, taking leftovers home wasn't considered strange or embarrassing in Lighthouse.

"I've already paid. Shunliu and I are going out for a stroll. You two keep eating!"

Gu Beichen talked around the subject, but anyone with eyes could see what he was after.

He also understood that Wang Shu and Xu Le had things to discuss.

After he left, Wang Shu looked at Xu Le again:

"Xu Le, give what I told you some serious thought."

"Brother Shu, even if a nobody like me went along to help, what could I actually do?"

"Lighthouse is a tower, and nobodies like us are the bricks stacked into its foundation. When there aren't enough bricks, the tower falls."

Wang Shu hadn't persuaded Xu Le, but Xu Le also knew that Bai Jing couldn't possibly have recruited him into the Night Watchers just to falsify accounts.

He understood the meaning of value. Someone who merely cooked the books didn't need another Red Moon Warlock to teach him.

From the moment he joined the Night Watchers, Xu Le had known what he would face in the future.

His refusal now was simply due to doubts about his own strength.

His original plan had been to stall for a while longer, thoroughly master the fundamentals of being a Warlock, and learn some basic Spell Formulas.

He also wanted to fully master his own abilities-the guyinduo soul tree and Medium Summoning-before gradually integrating into the Night Watchers' team.

But now it seemed Bai Jing wouldn't give him that much time.

And Lighthouse's current situation wouldn't give Bai Jing that much time, either.

"Ah, once you're in the thick of things, your choices aren't your own."

The two fell silent again. Xu Le didn't leave. He sat there, considering whether he should start going out on assignments right away.

The black cat Ding Ke sensed his mood, set down its soda, and leaned against him.

Xu Le stroked its head. Suddenly, a familiar voice broke the silence.

"Brother Xu Le? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Wang Man!"

Xu Le still didn't know what to say to this childhood friend of his.

"That uniform... did you join the Night Watchers, Brother Xu Le?"

"Yes, I've joined the Lighthouse Night Watchers."

[Female human's heart energy rising. Please take note.]

After receiving Xu Le's confirmation, Wang Man's emotions fluctuated intensely.

She lowered her head and said slowly:

"Now that you've joined the Night Watchers, does that mean you're settling down in Lighthouse and won't be going back to Zion?"

Xu Le nodded:

"Yes, I probably won't be going back."

"We're going back to Zion tomorrow."

"Got it."

Xu Le answered like a stranger. No matter how slow Wang Man was to catch on, she could hear the indifference and rejection in his voice.

Were the two of them never going to have a chance, after all...?

"You really are amazing, Brother Xu Le. The Night Watchers are a department just like the Zion Enforcers. Only someone as capable as you could get in so easily."

As she spoke, Wang Man sniffled before continuing:

"Then I wish you every success, Brother Xu Le. I'll be going."

Wang Man hurried away with her head down. Xu Le couldn't see her eyes, but he could see the dejection in her retreating figure.

Xu Le shook his head. This outcome had been almost inevitable.

He couldn't go back to Zion. Those memories existed, but they weren't familiar to him.

If he stayed in Lighthouse, he would have a clean slate. He could adapt well to his identity here and develop at his own pace.

If he returned to Zion, he would have to start all over again.

"It's better to cut things off. Women will only slow down my progress toward getting stronger."

Despite saying that, Xu Le still felt an inexplicable sense of loss. After all, Wang Man was a pretty girl with a lovely figure.

What he had just done amounted to rejecting her completely.

But Xu Le hadn't noticed that Ding Ke had been staring at Wang Man throughout their conversation.

After packing up the untouched food, Wang Shu still hadn't given up:

"Want to talk on the way?"

"Sure."

Just as they were about to leave, a commotion nearby stopped them.

"Nice! You can really drink!"

"You've got quite the capacity, Little Wang."

Wang Man was drinking with some people. Although Lighthouse's brewing techniques weren't particularly good, the liquor here still had an alcohol content of over twenty percent.

After downing two glasses like that, she was already close to being drunk.

The middle-aged fat man at the head of the table gave another man beside him a meaningful look. That man immediately raised his glass and approached Wang Man.

"Come on, Little Wang. Let me offer you another toast."

Wang Man could already feel that she'd drunk too much, but she was angry-angry with herself, and seemingly with Xu Le too, even though Xu Le didn't care.

She raised her glass and clinked it against his.

"All right, bottoms up."

Xu Le frowned slightly. After one glance, he turned and left, apparently having no intention of intervening.

Seeing that Xu Le really was leaving made Wang Man feel even more miserable. She poured herself another glass and drained it again.

Meanwhile, Xu Le had already left the Bright Hotel and was standing outside where the Steam Tricycles waited.

Wang Shu followed him out and walked up behind him.

"She's the one who sang during the Black Tide, right? She's a nice girl. You even survived the Black Tide together. Aren't you going to do anything?"

"We're not close." Xu Le sounded a little stubbornly aloof.

"You say one thing and mean another. She did win an Award for Righteous Courage, after all. If you won't do anything, I will."

Wang Shu turned and went back into the hotel, leaving Xu Le standing alone beside a tricycle. The driver asked tentatively:

"Boss, want a ride for twenty cents?"

Xu Le didn't answer. He simply stood there without a word.

Annoyed at being ignored, the driver muttered:

"Standing there like an idiot."

Xu Le still said nothing. He turned to Ding Ke:

"Do I look like one?"

"Meow!" Ding Ke nodded.

"Ah." Xu Le sighed, set the packed food on the mailbox outside the hotel, and turned to go back in.

Back in the hotel lobby, Xu Le caught hold of Wang Shu as he headed farther inside.

"Wait, Brother Shu. What are you going to do?"

"Protecting the vulnerable is part of a Night Watcher's duty. That girl is in danger."

"Then what do you consider protection, Brother Shu? Beating up those ordinary people?"

"What do you mean?"

Wang Shu frowned slightly, and Xu Le explained:

"A Night Watcher beating up ordinary people-and members of the Zion Arts Troupe at that-has diplomatic implications. Doing that would be very inappropriate. It would put you in an awkward position and make things extremely difficult for the captain."

"Then what should we do?"

"If we're going to abuse our authority anyway, why not do it another way? Diplomatic justice is still justice. What do you think, Brother Shu?"

Looking at Xu Le, Wang Shu thought for a while and finally nodded.

Elsewhere.

"Manager, should we keep an eye on that table?"

"Keep an eye on what? They're from the Zion Arts Troupe, and they're going back tomorrow. They aren't from Lighthouse, so what do they have to do with us? Even if something happens tomorrow, they'll already be on an airship back to Zion. Do your job and stop meddling, especially in outer-city people's affairs."

The hotel manager had an argument for everything. Cowed by his bullying, the waiter could only nod in agreement.

"Is that so?"

Xu Le's sudden appearance startled the manager. He was about to swear, but upon seeing Xu Le's uniform, his face immediately broke into a smile.

"Mr. Night Watcher, what's wrong? Was the food not to your liking?"

Xu Le narrowed his eyes and looked toward Wang Man's table:

"Your food wasn't very good. It put me in a bad mood, and now I really want to hit someone."

The manager froze. What did this man mean? Was he here to cause trouble?

He also looked toward Wang Man's table, taking in the two men who were forcing drinks on her and Wang Man, who was already barely lucid.

The manager understood, but his expression turned strained:

"Mr. Night Watcher, there are so many people here. That wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"

Xu Le nodded earnestly, as though he had taken the manager's advice to heart, but he continued:

"That fat man is a minor troupe leader in the Zion Arts Troupe, and the skinny one wants to become his deputy. I hate people who look so respectable while preying on a girl who's too out of it to know what's happening. They're eating at your establishment. Do me a favor, give them a beating, and help me vent my anger. Would you?"

Xu Le's expression was calm, and he was very polite.

Perhaps that politeness gave the manager some courage. He frowned slightly, even dropping the "Mr. Night Watcher":

"Brother, we're just trying to run a business. You're putting me in a very difficult position."

Xu Le nodded earnestly again.

"So you're unwilling."

He took a black fragment from his pocket and stuffed it directly into the manager's breast pocket.

The fragment was precisely what had remained after the death of the level-three Oddity, Black Cicada.

Xu Le straightened the manager's collar. Under the manager's bewildered gaze, he took out his Night Watcher identification. Holding it in one hand, he pulled the Black Cicada fragment from the manager's pocket with the other:

"I am Xu Le of the Night Watchers. I now suspect you of secretly possessing the remains of a Polluted Class Oddity. With the evidence conclusively established, the Bright Hotel must close for three days to clear out any residual guyinduo pollution. As for you personally, you will be sentenced to between nine and fifteen years in prison."

The manager: ???

The manager was utterly dumbfounded. How had things fast-forwarded straight to prison? He stared at Xu Le in shock:

"You... you're framing me!"

"You're mistaken. I'm investigating guyinduo pollution, while you're condoning criminal activity, making you an accomplice. Hey, you saw it too, didn't you?"

Xu Le looked at the waiter the manager had been berating.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes. You're conducting an investigation."

Xu Le looked at the manager without expression:

"All right, now we have a witness too. If we work efficiently, you could be locked up tomorrow. You might even make it in time for tomorrow night's prison dinner."

The manager looked at Xu Le, then at the group from the Zion Arts Troupe, his expression shifting.

Suddenly, he clenched his fists and walked toward Wang Man's table.